January 21, 2015

Wednesday Briefs: At Full Speed, #1

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs, where authors post
free fiction of 1000 words or less each week. I used this prompt: have a character
get pulled over by a policeman

At
Full Speed, #1

“Oh, crap!” Jake jumped
in the driver’s seat when the blue lights of a police car flashed behind him.
He glanced at his tachometer and cursed again. No, no, this could not happen.
Not again. How many speeding tickets could one get before serious trouble
arose?

Jake pulled to the side,
cut the engine, and waited. He cast another glance in the rearview window,
catching sight of his enormous wide blue eyes, darkened from distress. He
shoved his blond bangs out of his eyes and made sure to straighten his collar.
Looking respectable, rather than disheveled and panicked, was hopefully going
to help the situation. Who knew, maybe the cop wasn’t averse to him fluttering
his lashes and he’d get away with a verbal warning? It had happened before, so
why not again today?

The rap at his window
caught him offguard and he started. He peered up through the window, struggling
not to show too much anxiety—because some cops got off on that and he’d hated
those situations with a passion—and his mouth fell open.

For a moment, or two or
three—but who counted these things anyway—Jake simply stared. This just
couldn’t be true. It could not. He
closed his eyes, praying the man outside his car was an illusion, and re-opened
them.

“Oh, fuck me,” Jake
groaned.

“I don’t think so,
sunshine. Roll down your window,” Bruce said.

Bruce. His boyfriend
Bruce. His new boyfriend Bruce to be
precise. The tall, broad-muscled Bruce with short-cropped brown hair and eyes
of the same color. His eyes had been one of the first features Jake had fallen
for. They were always filled with a light twinkle and so much warmth. Except
right now; these eyes held no warmth at all. For a split second, Jake debated bursting
into tears—no matter how unmanly that would be—but Bruce slapped a hand against
the window, rattling it. Jake gasped and hurriedly rolled down his window.

“Hey Bruce, what a
surprise.” Jake forced a small smile on his face. A friendly smile wouldn’t
hurt, right? Everyone liked to see friendly faces better than those sour
expressions so many people sported lately.

“Indeed. License,
please.”

“What?”

“Your driver’s license.
You have it with you, right?” Bruce asked, a crease forming between his
eyebrows. Jake’s hand itched to smooth it out. He must’ve gotten lost in his
contemplation of Bruce’s face because he prompted, “Jacob.”

Jacob. Jake
grimaced as a hot flush crawled from his cheeks to his throat and collarbone.
As much as he liked, no, adored Bruce’s slightly raspy voice on any normal
occasion, right now it sent goose bumps up his arms. Would Bruce find out about
the other times he’d gotten speeding tickets? It wasn’t that he was a reckless
driver, he just got lost in the moment, and when the roads were free, why
shouldn’t a driver be allowed to drive fast?

He fumbled for his
wallet, wondering if he could tell any of his thoughts to Bruce. They hadn’t
known each other for long, and Bruce had always seemed… strict. He wasn’t
overbearing or anything. He simply oozed an authoritarian air that had
attracted Jake in an instant.

When he handed Bruce his
driver’s license, he babbled, “I’m sorry for speeding. I didn’t even realize I
was doing it. The road was free, and I…”

Jake dropped his gaze
after Bruce took his license, taking no further notice of his chatter other
than raising an eyebrow. Before he walked back to his car, Bruce told him,
“Stay put.”

“Stay put. Sure. What
does he think I’ll do? Drive away? Does he think I’m stupid or what?” Jake
muttered to himself. He slumped in his seat, rubbing a hand over his tightly
clenched stomach. What if this was a deal-breaker or something? What if Bruce
didn’t want to see him anymore?

Jake rolled his
shoulders to prevent himself from hunching over, which as an aftereffect would
bring on a headache. It took forever for Bruce to come back. He leaned into the
open window, handed Jake his license and a ticket. “Lots of speeding tickets in
the last year, Jake.”

Jake shrugged, tucking
away his things. Couldn’t Bruce have looked the other way? Why did he have to
write him a ticket too? After all he was the man’s boyfriend. Didn’t that count
for anything?

“Jake?”

Jake did his best to
swallow down his irritation, but his retort came out curt and on the sullen
side. “Yes?”

“You’re mad at me for
the ticket, hmm?”

“It’s your job, I know
that but… it still sucks to get a ticket from you.”

Bruce’s lips curved
upward. “Because I’m your boyfriend?”

A hot surge of relief
undulated within Jake’s stomach. “Are you? Still my boyfriend, I mean?”

“Of course, even though
seeing the list of your speeding and
parking tickets had me feeling the tiniest bit faint a few minutes ago.”